While unseasonal weather has played havoc with this year’s harvest, we should also stop to think of its impact on wildlife, according to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).
The grey partridge, known by conservationists as the ‘barometer of the countryside’, is one species likely to be affected by a dry spring and a dull, wet July and August.
The Partridge Count Scheme wants help to find out just how much of an impact the summer’s weather has had on the wild grey partridge population.
Following the summer of 2012, grey partridge numbers suffered a sharp decline following the wettest summer in recent English history, again after a remarkably dry spring.
Whilst 2021 hasn’t seen the same extremes of that year, the GWCT is urging farmers to look out for their partridges and report their findings.
“As thunderstorms struck southern England in July, grey partridge chicks would have been desperately sheltering from the rain,” said Dr. Julie Ewald, head of GIS at the GWCT.
“This unseasonal weather makes good farmland habitat even more important, reducing the distance chicks need to forage and the risk of predation by foxes and other predators.”
The Partridge Count Scheme
Julie and her GWCT colleagues are urging farmers to sign up for the Partridge Count Scheme, a voluntary initiative that, since 1933, has been collecting information on the abundance and breeding success of grey partridges.
“We can’t control the weather, but individuals on the ground can make a real difference to the future of our partridges by implementing key habitats, management, and monitoring the effect,” she added.
“Success should be reflected in subsequent counts, further encouraging landowners and managers to strengthen their efforts.
“The count also provides a meaningful contribution to our understanding of what’s happening to wild grey partridges across the countryside.
Partridges are particularly vulnerable to predation as they nest, forage and roost on the ground, with nesting females particularly vulnerable.”
The impact of extreme weather events, particularly rainfall, can make foraging incredibly dangerous for the chicks.
Partridge chicks forage for insects to feed on within the first few days after hatching and, as a result, are extremely vulnerable if they have to travel further to find enough food.
